Mohammed Mar'i Saudi Gazette RAMALLAH – A rightist Israeli minister on Sunday said that he will oppose the release of Palestinian prisoners as a “good will gesture” to restart peace talks with the Palestinians. Naftali Bennett, Economy and Trade Minister, told the Israeli Army Radio that “I would not free one murderer in exchange for the right to sit with Abu Mazen (the nom de guerre of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas).” “I will oppose the release of terrorists who murdered Jews as a gesture in advance of PA (Palestinian Authority) negotiations, and I believe Prime Minister (Binyamin) Netanyahu agrees that Israel does not have to accept any preconditions,” Bennett said. On Thursday, the Palestinian Minister of Detainees and Ex-detainees Issa Qaraqi' said that the Abbas insists that Israel release the 103 Palestinian prisoners detained prior to the Oslo agreement and sick prisoners as a precondition for the resumption of peace talks. Qaraqi' added that the Palestinian President has informed US Secretary of State John Kerry and other mediators of the Palestinian demands. Bennett stated that until the Palestinians recognize the right of Israel to exist as a Jewish state, all efforts to restart negotiations were “a waste of time.” The rightist minister slammed Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni for suggesting that Israel would be labeled “an Apartheid state” in the international media in the absence of a two-state solution. He stated that there was no push to boycott Israel, but there could be if Livni continued to warn of such a possibility publicly. The peace talks between Israel and the PA broke down in 2010 because Israel insisted to continue settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Palestinians insist not to resume any direct or indirect peace talks with Israel before the latter clearly declares a complete cessation of settlement activities in the territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem that Palestinians want the capital of their future state. They also demand the release of the 103 prisoners. Sa'eb Erekat, a member of the PLO's Executive Committee and head of its Negotiations Department, said that US Secretary of State John Kerry will return to the region on Tuesday in a further effort to restart peace talks. Erekat said in a press statement that Kerry would return on Tuesday. He blamed Israel for creating obstacles to the renewal of negotiations, adding that Israel “must meet its responsibilities.”
